Shruikan
Shruikan was a black male dragon, forcibly bonded to Galbatorix. He was the only dragon other than Glaedr to survive the Fall of the Riders (not including the Forsworn's dragons, who were killed later). History When Galbatorix's dragon, Jarnunvösk, was killed by Urgals, Galbatorix traveled back to the Rider's stronghold in Ilirea, where he was brought before the Council of Elders. He demanded another dragon, and the desperation of his request revealed that he was insane. He was denied his hope, and formulated a plan to exact revenge. As a hatchling, Shruikan was stolen by Galbatorix after he killed Shruikan's original Rider. Galbatorix then named the dragon Shruikan,[http://www.randombuzzers.com/the-buzz/boards/topic/226/113755/?start=19 randombuzzers.com, Christopher Paolini's November 2010 Q&*, retrieved July 26, 2011] a perversion of the usual custom, as dragons normally opted to choose their own names when they were old enough to understand this concept. He twisted the young dragon's mind with powerful dark magic, so that Shruikan would serve as Galbatorix's new dragon. Likely, Galbatorix also used magic to artificially speed up Shruikan's growth. When Shruikan was fully grown, he was forced by Galbatorix and his servant, Morzan, to take down the Riders and kill his own brethren. Shruikan was spared in The Banishing of the Names because he was forced into servitude, unlike the Forsworn's dragons, who chose to. Bond to Galbatorix The bond between Galbatorix and Shruikan was a corrupted version of the natural link between dragon and Rider; therefore, It is extremely likely that Galbatorix had control of Shruikan's Eldunarí, which made him enslaved to the king. Shruikan was fairly insane, and was consumed by hatred due to having been controlled and corrupted by Galbatorix his entire life. His loyalty to Galbatorix is questionable, but Shruikan seemed to take tormented pleasure in fighting for him. When he made his first appearance in Inheritance, Elva noted that he was the most unhappy creature she had ever met. All she could sense within him was madness. She goes on to say that if he could, he would destroy everyone and burn every plant. Appearances Shruikan was a black dragon of titanic size. According to Inheritance, Shruikan had a pale blue-white iris, the color of a high mountain glacier. He was larger than Glaedr and possibly larger than Belgabad, told to have spikes as thick as tree trunks and to make the ground shake more than a mile around him with every step he took. He was eventually killed in Galbatorix's throne room because the room was to small for him so with Saphira and Thorn on Shuikan's head he couldn't move his head away when Arya went to stab him through the eye with her Dauthdaert. He was mentioned various times throughout the course of the Cycle, and made a large appearance at the end of Inheritance. Shruikan's first actual appearance was when the Varden were outside the gates of Urû'baen. Galbatorix let Shruikan to reveal himself to the Varden, to threaten them and demoralize them. He came from Urû'baen, and then flew around, unleashed a jet of flames and then flew back to Urû'baen. It was impossible to tell his size but at this point Eragon guessed that he could have been the biggest dragon he had ever seen. Shruikan next appeared when the four warriors, Eragon, Arya, Saphira and Elva confronted Galbatorix. He was mistaken for a large curtain as he lay behind the King's throne. When he awoke he made a challenging glance the group and even a challenging growl at Saphira personally as his growl was much larger than hers. However Galbatorix calmed him. When they are able to break free of Galbatorix's magic Thorn attacked Shruikan, although he only succeeded in getting injured. However, with Saphira's help, Thorn was able to get Shruikan's neck down almost to the ground with their combined weight because the room was to small for him to lift his neck up all the way. As they did he breathed his black fire and almost succeeded in incinerating Arya, who had the Dauthdaert in her hands. because Shruikan couldn't move his head in the small room with Saphira and Thorn on his head so Arya, with her supernatural agility, was able to stab Shruikan through the eye with the enchanted dragon-killing weapon. With that Shruikan's life came to an end. Shruikan's corpse was stripped of all flesh by Galbatorix's suicide by magic, which caused a nuclear explosion, and his skull was destroyed by the ceiling partially collapsing onto it. It is probable that the rest of his skeleton was destroyed when the rest of the throne room collapsed on it. Shruikan appeared briefly at the very end of the ''Eragon'' film (seen to the right). He was seen blowing fire in the last shot of the film, after Galbatorix cuts a map in half, which reveals the dragon hiding behind. Also there was no mention that Shruikan would not be Galbatorix´s original dragon but a stolen one. During the film, if you pay attention, you can hear Shruikan growling in the background during a scene where Galbatorix pushes Durza against the map of Alagaësia threateningly. It is very faint but noticeable. Speculation Fans speculate that while Galbatorix was capturing Eldunarí from dragons during the Fall of the Riders, he spent years trying to make them bend to his will. Therefore, it is wondered if Galbatorix had Shruikan's Eldunarí. It was very likely, as Galbatorix had made Shruikan his slave, which may have been easier if he had had possession of Shruikan's heart of hearts. However, it is questionable if Galbatorix had enough hold over him to force him to disgorge his heart of hearts. One theory was that Eragon would separate Galbatorix from Shruikan's Eldunarí, and Shruikan would betray Galbatorix and kill him at that moment. Another speculation was that Shruikan, a slave to Galbatorix, would be free of his enslavement if he could change himself and therefore his true name. Some fans hoped that Shruikan would survive, because the dragon's spell of name banishment was of no effect on him. That, in combination how the people of Alagaësia pity him, lead to more speculation of Shruikan's survival. However, with the publishment of Inheritance, it was revealed that Shruikan was beyond any hope of being saved. Eragon asks Elva after his appearance if she was able to feel anything from the massive dragon, to which she replies that she can only feel great pain and anger, and that if he could he would burn every plant and kill every creature he met until nothing was left. Eragon then asks her if there's any way to reach him, but to his dismay Elva tells him that there is none, and the best thing they could do for him was to put him out of his misery. It is unknown whether or not Shruikan's Eldunarí, and his conciousness, survived the events of Inheritance, or if it was destroyed in Galbatorix's blast. Personality According to Inheritance, Shruikan's only desire is to burn and destroy every last being and plant until nothing remained. Elva had admitted that he was too far beyond sanity to be helped. Galbatorix said that he was angry with everyone. References de:Shruikan es:Shruikan fi:Shruikan nl:Shruikan pl:Shruikan ru:Шрюкн Category:Dragons Category:Servants of Galbatorix Category:Males